About Us

I will treasure for the rest of my life an intimate encounter with heritage that began one evening along the Janet Frame Heritage Trail in Oamaru. As I read the the brochure I noted that 56 Eden Street would not be included. The omission had such a power of attraction that I soon found myself standing in front of the house. I looked at its condition, its unpainted walls nested in knee-high grass. There were no lights. How could such a significant feature in the New Zealand cultural landscape be so neglected? And how could it be saved? Bill Tramposch

Bill and Peggy Tramposch went on to buy the house, set up a Trust, and establish funding for the restoration of the house. The property is now administered by the Janet Frame Eden Street Trust.

The property as it stands today is the story of the re-framing of this modest dwelling. At each step the work has been carefully carried out to ensure that no permanent damage was done to the original fabric.

The key rooms are very much as they looked during the Frame residency. The dining room (with its original lino) and the bedrooms have not changed since those days.

The house is not a restoration, it has become what is now called a re-framing, a combination of known facts and recollections. In many ways, the house is as the first lines in To the Is-Land